Adam Malik

Malik, Adam (mälˈēk) [key], 1917–84, Indonesian government official. A militant nationalist as a youth, he helped to found a news bureau that eventually became the official Indonesian news agency, and after World War II he fought for Indonesian independence. He entered the house of representatives in 1956 and later served as ambassador to the USSR (1959–63) and minister of commerce (1963–65) under President Sukarno. He was (1966) a key figure in Sukarno's removal from power and became foreign minister in the new government. In this post he negotiated Indonesia's readmittance to the United Nations and a peace treaty with Malaysia, while reversing Sukarno's pro-Chinese policies. He later served as Vice President (1978–83) under President Suharto.